Kendrick Lamar, one of the genre's most celebrated rising acts, had received seven nominations, but wound up being shut out entirely. Lamar lost in three of those categories to indie upstarts Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, who took home trophies for best new artist, best rap album and best rap performance.Macklemore and Lewis's rap nominations had been somewhat controversial to begin with: According to the Hollywood Reporter, some of the Recording Academy's rap committee members had felt that the pair shouldn't be eligible because of its wide success on mainstream pop radio.